Drawing Hands is hard. This Tutorial isn't. | DrawlikeaSir, by Draw like a Sir on YouTube. 8 min 43 s.
- Video length
- 8 min 43 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Start at the easiest level: draw the palm only, as a rounded rectangle or mitten shape. Keep the lines light and skip the fingers for now.
Block in the four fingers as simple tubes or rectangles coming off the top edge of the palm. Do not shape them yet.
Add the thumb as a separate wedge attached to the side of the palm, angled away from the fingers.
Bend the finger tubes at the joints so the hand is holding a pose. Straight, parallel fingers are the most common beginner mistake.
Mark three small bumps along the back of the hand for the knuckles, then a small circle at each finger joint.
Check your finger lengths: the middle finger is longest, then the index and ring finger, with the pinky shortest.
Refine the outline. Taper each finger slightly toward the tip and add nails and a few skin folds only at the joints.
Erase the construction lines and darken the final contour with long, confident strokes.
Tips and common mistakes
Draw your own free hand in the air or on your knee when you have no photo to copy.
Keep the palm roughly the same size as the person's face, or the hand will look too small.
Draw the whole hand as simple boxes first and only add detail once the proportions look right.
Practise the same hand shape ten times in a row rather than ten different hands once.
Questions
Why do my drawn hands look wrong?
Usually the palm is too small or all the fingers are the same length and perfectly straight. Block the palm first, then vary the finger lengths and bend the joints.
Do I need a reference photo?
It helps a lot at the start. Photograph your own hand in the pose you want and copy the big shapes before the details.
How long until I can draw hands well?
Expect a few weeks of short daily practice. Ten minutes of blocking out hand shapes each day beats one long session.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
